1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus of reserving the recording of a television program in a broadcasting system for video data, audio data and meta data.
2. Description Of The Related Art
In a conventional video tape recorder (VTR), a viewer looks for his favorite television program listed in a television program table of a news paper, recording reservation information such as a television channel, a broadcasting start time and a broadcasting finish time or a G code is input to the VTR, so that the television program is recorded during a broadcasting time.
Also, a digital television broadcasting has been recently developed, a satellite digital television broadcasting has been already started, and a digital terrestrial television broadcasting is expected to be started in the near future. Because television contents expressed by digital data are broadcasted in the digital television broadcasting, a data broadcasting and the broadcasting of television program schedule information (or electronic program information) are performed in addition to the broadcasting of video and audio data.
In case of the digital television broadcasting, because a large number of television programs are broadcasted on hundreds of television channels, it becomes difficult to watch or record a desired television program selected from a large number of television programs. Therefore, it is desired that television program schedule information is broadcasted with the contents of the television programs for a viewer to easily watch or record his favorite television program.
Also, in case of the multichannel digital television broadcasting, contents of each television program is repeatedly broadcasted, so that the television program does not correspond to a broadcasting time (a broadcasting start time and a broadcasting finish time). Therefore, it is desired that a viewer is not required to specify a broadcasting time of a television program but the time for recording a television program is automatically set when the viewer selects the television program.
Also, in cases where a special television program is suddenly added or a broadcasting duration of a television program is suddenly prolonged, the television program schedule information is renewed. In this case, it is expected that the renewed television program schedule information is broadcasted to each viewer and a recording schedule of his favorite television program is adaptively changed according to the renewed television program schedule information.
As Japanese patent applications of the digital television broadcasting using the television program schedule information, a group of Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Applications xe2x80x9cSystem for Changing VTR Reserving Video Recording Automaticallyxe2x80x9d (No.5-54466 of 1993), xe2x80x9cInformation Record Reservation Device and Reservation Methodxe2x80x9d (No.6-276501 of 1994), xe2x80x9cReserving Device for Automatic Video Recording of Programxe2x80x9d (No.7-65437 of 1995) and xe2x80x9cTelevision broadcasting Picture Recording Systemxe2x80x9d (No.9-44931 of 1997) are disclosed. In these applications, the recording reservation is changed according to the renewal of the television program schedule information. Also, a Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application xe2x80x9cVideo Recording Management Devicexe2x80x9d (No.7-21619 of 1995) is disclosed. In this application, when overlapping recording reservations are detected, one of the recording reservations is canceled or the recording reservation is treated as a reservation for another VTR. Also, a Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application xe2x80x9cTV Program Reservation Method and Television Receiver with TV Program Reservation Functionxe2x80x9d (No.5-22673 of 1993) is disclosed. In this application, television program schedule information (or broadcasting program table) is displayed on a cathode-ray tube display part to simplify a reservation input.
2.1. Previously Proposed Art:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional television program recording reservation apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional television program recording reservation apparatus 100 is composed of
a receiving unit 101 for receiving a broadcast signal S1;
a demultiplexing unit 102 for demultiplexing the broadcast signal S1 into a television program signal S2 and input television program schedule information I1i; 
a television program schedule information storing unit 103 for storing television program schedule information I1 previously output from the demultiplexing unit 102;
a television program recording reservation receiving unit 104 for receiving input television program recording reservation information I2i from a viewer;
a television program recording reservation information storing unit 105 for storing television program recording reservation information I2 previously received in the receiving unit 104;
a schedule managing unit 106 for managing the television program schedule information storing unit 103 to renew the television program schedule information I1 stored in the storing unit 103 according to the input television program schedule information I1i, and managing a schedule of the television program recording reservations to add the input television program recording reservation information I2i to the television program schedule information I1 on condition that a recording time (from a recording start time to a recording finish time) of the input television program recording reservation information I2i does not overlap with that of any television program schedule information I1;
a timer 107 for outputting an interruption signal S3 to the schedule managing unit 106; and
a television program recording unit 108 for recording the television program signal S2 output from the demultiplexing unit 102 in a recording medium 109 under the control of the schedule managing unit 106.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the schedule managing unit 106.
As shown in FIG. 2, the schedule managing unit 106 is composed of
a broadcast signal reception control unit 111 for controlling the reception of the broadcast signal S1 performed in the receiving unit 101 according to the interruption signal S3 output from the timer 107;
a television program schedule information comparing and renewing unit 112 for comparing the input television program schedule information I1i output from the demultiplexing unit 102 with the television program schedule information I1 previously stored in the television program schedule information storing unit 103 and renewing the television program schedule information I1 to the input television program schedule information I1i output from the demultiplexing unit 102 in cases where the input television program schedule information I1i differs from the television program schedule information I1;
a television program recording reservation information comparing and renewing unit 113 for comparing the input television program recording reservation information I2i newly received in the receiving unit 104 with the television program recording reservation information I2 registered in the television program recording reservation information storing unit 105 and adding the input television program recording reservation information I2i to the television program recording reservation information I2 in cases where a recording time of the input television program recording reservation information I2i does not overlap with any recording time of the television program recording reservation information I2 already registered in the storing unit 105; and
a television program recording control unit 114 for controlling the recording of the television program signal S2 performed in the television program recording unit 108.
In the above configuration, to periodically receive television program schedule information, the broadcast signal reception control unit 111 outputs a receiving unit control signal to the receiving unit 101 in synchronization with an interruption signal S3 output from the timer 107 at regular time periods, so that the receiving unit 101 is controlled to receive a broadcast signal S1 composed of a television program signal S2 and input television program schedule information I1i. Thereafter, the broadcast signal S1 received in the receiving unit 101 is demultiplexed into the television program signal S2 and the input television program schedule information I1i in the demultiplexing unit 102.
Thereafter, in the television program schedule information comparing and renewing unit 112, the input television program schedule information I1i newly received is compared with the television program schedule information I1 previously stored in the television program schedule information storing unit 103. In cases where the input television program schedule information I1i differs from the television program schedule information I1 previously stored, the television program schedule information I1i newly received is replaced with the television program schedule information I1 in the television program schedule information storing unit 103. Therefore, even though the television program schedule information I1 is renewed, updated television program schedule information I1i is stored in the television program schedule information storing unit 103.
Also, when a viewer inputs television program recording reservation information I2i for a desired television program to the television program recording reservation receiving unit 104, a broadcasting time (a broadcasting start time and a broadcasting finish time) and a broadcasting channel of the desired television program are retrieved from the television program schedule information I1 of the storing unit 103 and are attached to the input television program recording reservation information I2i as a recording time and a reservation channel, and it is judged in the television program recording reservation information comparing and renewing unit 113 whether or not the recording time of the input television program recording reservation information I2i overlaps with a recording time of one of recording reservations indicated by the television program recording reservation information I2 of the television program recording reservation information storing unit 105. In cases where the recording time of the input television program recording reservation information I2i does not overlap with any recording time of the television program recording reservation information I2 registered in the storing unit 105, the input television program recording reservation information I2i is additionally registered in the storing unit 105. In contrast, in cases where the recording time of the input television program recording reservation information I2i overlaps with one recording time of the television program recording reservation information I2 registered in the storing unit 105, an overlap informing instruction is output to the television program recording reservation receiving unit 104 to cancel one of overlapping television program recording reservations or treat the input television program recording reservation information I2i as a television program recording reservation input to another television program recording reservation apparatus (not shown).
Thereafter, a television program recording control signal is output from the recording control unit 114 to the television program recording unit 108 according to each television program recording reservation registered in the storing unit 105 to record the television program signal S2 transmitted from the demultiplexing unit 102 in the recording medium 109 during the recording time indicated by the television program recording reservation.
Next, an operation, in which a television program recording reservation is changed according to the renewal of the television program schedule information I1, is described.
FIG. 3A shows an example of a television program schedule table in which the recording of a specific television program is reserved, FIG. 3B shows an example of a renewed television program schedule table in which a recording time of the specific television program is changed.
As shown in FIG. 3A, a recording reservation is performed for a television program xe2x80x9cdramaxe2x80x9d P1 planned to be broadcasted just after another television program xe2x80x9cbaseball gamexe2x80x9d P2. As shown in FIG. 3B, in cases where a broadcasting time of the television program xe2x80x9cbaseball gamexe2x80x9d P2 is prolonged by 30 minutes, the television program schedule information I1 is renewed, a recording time (a recording start time and a recording finish time) in the recording reservation is automatically delayed by 30 minutes according to the renewed television program schedule information I1 in the conventional television program recording reservation apparatus 100.
Next, an operation, in which a television program recording reservation is prohibited in case of the overlapping of the television program recording reservation with another television program recording reservation previously performed, is described.
FIG. 4 shows an example of a television program schedule table in which the recording of a first television program xe2x80x9cmoviexe2x80x9d planned to be broadcasted during a broadcasting time on a first channel CH1 has been al ready reserved and a viewer tries to reserve the recording of a second television program xe2x80x9cdramaxe2x80x9d planned to be broadcasted on a second channel CH2 during a broadcasting time overlapping with that of the first television program xe2x80x9cmoviexe2x80x9d.
As shown in FIG. 4, the recording of a first television program xe2x80x9cmoviexe2x80x9d planned to be broadcasted during a broadcasting time (from 7:00 to 9:00) on a first channel CH1 is reserved. Also, the recording of a television program xe2x80x9ccomedyxe2x80x9d planned to be broadcasted during a broadcasting time (from 9:00 to 11:00) on a second channel CH2 is reserved. In cases where a viewer tries to reserve the recording of a second television program xe2x80x9cdramaxe2x80x9d planned to be broadcasted during a broadcasting time (from 7:30 to 8:30) on the second channel CH2, because the broadcasting time of the second television program xe2x80x9cdramaxe2x80x9d overlaps with that of the first television program xe2x80x9cmoviexe2x80x9d, the recording reservation of the first television program xe2x80x9cmoviexe2x80x9d takes priority of that of the second television program xe2x80x9cdramaxe2x80x9d, and the recording reservation of the second television program xe2x80x9cdramaxe2x80x9d is prohibited.
Next, an operation, in which recording reservations for television programs broadcasted as a television series (or television programs broadcasted as a television serial) are performed, is described.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a television program schedule table in which a plurality of television programs planned to be broadcasted in the same prescribed broadcasting time are listed as a television series (or a television serial). As shown in FIG. 5, a first-time television program xe2x80x9cdrama (1)xe2x80x9d, a second-time television program xe2x80x9cdrama (2)xe2x80x9d and a third-time television program xe2x80x9cdrama (3)xe2x80x9d are broadcasted as a television serial, and the television program is broadcasted every day (or every week). In this case, a viewer reserves the recording of the first-time television program, the recording of the second-time television program and the recording of the third-time television program, respectively.
Next, an operation, in which recording reservations for a plurality of television programs suiting a taste of a viewer are performed, is described.
FIG. 6 shows an example of a television program schedule table in which a plurality of television programs suiting a taste of a viewer are listed.
As shown in FIG. 6, in cases where a viewer likes the Hawaii and a brand shopping, he looks for a television program xe2x80x9cHawaiixe2x80x9d and a television program xe2x80x9cbrand shoppingxe2x80x9d and reserves the recording of the television program xe2x80x9cHawaiixe2x80x9d and the recording of the television program xe2x80x9cbrand shoppingxe2x80x9d. However, he often overlooks a television program xe2x80x9cHonoluluxe2x80x9d. Therefore, he misses to reserve the recording of the television program xe2x80x9cHonoluluxe2x80x9d.
2.2. Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the recording reservation changing method disclosed in the Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Applications No.5-54466 of 1993, No.6-276501 of 1994, No.7-65437 of 1995 and No.9-44931 of 1997, in cases where a broadcasting time of a television program is changed because of the prolongation of the broadcasting duration or the insertion of a specific television program, a recording time (a recording start time and a recording finish time) of the recording reservation for the television program can be automatically reset at a real time according to the change of the broadcasting time. However, in cases where the reset recording time of the recording reservation overlaps with a recording time of another recording reservation already registered, there is a problem that one of the recording reservation cannot be registered.
Also, in the Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No.7-21619 of 1995, one of overlapping recording reservations is reset as a recording reservation performed in another VTR, so that a plurality of television programs, of which broadcasting times overlap with each other, can be simultaneously recorded in a plurality of VTRs. However, there is a problem that a plurality of television programs, of which broadcasting times overlap with each other, cannot be simultaneously recorded in a single VTR.
Also, in the Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No.5-22673 of 1993, when a television program desired to be recorded is selected from a plurality of television programs of a television program schedule table displayed on a display, the recording of the desired television program is automatically reserved, so that a television program reserving operation can be simplified. However, there is a problem that a lump-sum recording reservation for a plurality of television programs broadcasted as a television series (or a television serial) cannot be performed or an assist in reserving the recording of a favorite television program overlooked by a viewer cannot be performed.
A first object of the present invention is to provide, with due consideration to the problems of such a conventional television program recording reservation apparatus, a television program recording reservation apparatus in which a plurality of recording reservations for a plurality of television programs, of which a plurality of broadcasting times overlap with each other, are registered to record the television programs according to the recording reservations.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a television program recording reservation apparatus in which a lump-sum recording reservation for a plurality of specific television programs broadcasted as a television series (or a television serial) is automatically registered to record the specific television programs according to the lump-sum recording reservation and in which a recording reservation for one of the specific television programs is registered to selectively record the specific television program according to the recording reservation.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a television program recording reservation apparatus in which a recording reservation for a favorite television program suiting a viewer""s taste is automatically registered.
The first object is achieved by the provision of a television program recording reservation apparatus, comprising:
television program schedule storing means for storing a television program schedule in which a broadcasting schedule of a plurality of television programs including a specific television program is listed, one or more television programs being rebroadcasted;
television program recording reservation receiving means for receiving an input television program recording reservation for a desired television program;
television program recording reservation storing means for storing one or more television program recording reservations for one or more television programs previously received by the television program recording reservation receiving means as one or more registered television program recording reservations;
television program recording reservation overlap judging means for judging whether or not a recording time of the input television program recording reservation received by the television program recording reservation receiving means overlaps with a recording time of each registered television program recording reservation registered in the television program recording reservation storing means;
rebroadcast television program retrieving means for retrieving a rebroadcast desired television program having the same contents as those of the desired television program or a rebroadcast specific television program having the same contents as those of the specific television program from the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means, in cases where it is judged by the television program recording reservation overlap judging means that the recording time of the input television program recording reservation overlaps with a recording time of a specific registered television program recording reservation for the specific television program, on condition that a broadcasting time of the rebroadcast desired television program does not overlap with a recording time of any registered television program recording reservation registered in the television program recording reservation storing means or a broadcasting time of the rebroadcast specific television program does not overlap with a recording time of the input television program recording reservation or a recording time of any registered television program recording reservation other than the specific registered television program recording reservation, a recording time of a television program recording reservation for a television program being the same as a broadcasting time of the television program; and
television program recording reservation registration controlling means for producing a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast desired television program retrieved by the rebroadcast television program retrieving means or a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast specific television program retrieved by the rebroadcast television program retrieving means according to the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means, and controlling the television program recording reservation storing means to store the rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast desired television program or to store the rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast specific television program in place of the specific registered television program recording reservation for the specific television program, the rebroadcast desired television program or the rebroadcast specific television program being recorded at its broadcasting time and being played back.
In the above configuration, in cases where a recording time of an input television program recording reservation for a desired television program overlaps with that of one of the registered television program recording reservations, it is impossible to record the desired television program in its broadcasting time.
In the present invention, in cases where it is judged by the television program recording reservation overlap judging means that a recording time of a input television program recording reservation for a desired television program overlaps with a recording time of a specific registered television program recording reservation for a specific television program, because the desired television program and the specific television program are respectively rebroadcasted or repeatedly broadcasted, a rebroadcast desired television program or a rebroadcast specific television program is retrieved from the television program schedule.
In cases where the rebroadcast desired television program is retrieved on condition that a broadcasting time of the rebroadcast desired television program does not overlap with a recording time of any registered television program recording reservation, a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast desired television program is produced, and the rebroadcast television program recording reservation is registered in the television program recording reservation storing means.
Also, in cases where the rebroadcast specific television program is retrieved on condition that a broadcasting time of the rebroadcast specific television program does not overlap with a recording time of the input television program recording reservation or a recording time of any registered television program recording reservation other than the specific registered television program recording reservation, a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast specific television program is produced, and the rebroadcast television program recording reservation is registered in the television program recording reservation storing means in place of the specific registered television program recording reservation for the specific television program.
Accordingly, even though a television program recording reservation, of which a recording time overlaps with a specific registered television program recording reservation for a specific television program, is input, because the television program recording reservation for the desired television program is replaced with a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for a rebroadcast desired television program having the same contents as those of the desired television program on condition that the rebroadcast television program recording reservation does not overlap with any registered television program recording reservation or because the specific registered television program recording reservation is replaced with a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for a rebroadcast specific television program having the same contents as those of the specific television program on condition that the rebroadcast television program recording reservation does not overlap with the input television program recording reservation or any registered television program recording reservation other than the specific registered television program recording reservation, the desired television program and the specific registered television program can be reliably recorded and played back.
The first object is also achieved by the provision of a television program recording reservation apparatus, comprising:
television program schedule storing means for storing a television program schedule in which a broadcasting schedule of a plurality of television programs including first and second television programs is listed, one or more television programs being rebroadcasted;
television program recording reservation storing means for storing a plurality of television program recording reservations for a plurality of television programs;
television program recording reservation overlap judging means for judging whether or not a recording time of one television program recording reservation overlaps with a recording time of another television program recording reservation for each television program recording reservation registered in the television program recording reservation storing means;
rebroadcast television program retrieving means for retrieving a rebroadcast television program having the same contents as those of a first television program from the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means, in cases where it is judged by the television program recording reservation overlap judging means that a recording time of a first television program recording reservation for the first television program overlaps with a recording time of a second television program recording reservation for a second television program, on condition that a broadcasting time of the rebroadcast television program does not overlap with a recording time of any of the television program recording reservations registered in the television program recording reservation storing means other than the first television program recording reservation, a recording time of a television program recording reservation for a television program being the same as a broadcasting time of the television program; and
television program recording reservation producing means for producing a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast television program retrieved by the rebroadcast television program retrieving means according to the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means, and controlling the television program recording reservation storing means to store the rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast television program in place of the first television program recording reservation for the first television program, the rebroadcast television program being recorded at its broadcasting time and being played back.
In the above configuration, in cases where a broadcasting time of a specific television program broadcasted just before a first television program or a second television program is prolonged, a broadcasting time of the first television program or a broadcasting time of the second television program is delayed. Therefore, even though a first television program recording reservation for the first television program and a second television program recording reservation for the second television program not overlapping with each other are initially registered in the television program recording reservation storing means, when the broadcasting of the specific television program is prolonged, there is a case that the first television program recording reservation overlaps with the second television program recording reservation.
In this case, the overlapping of the first and second television program recording reservations is detected by the television program recording reservation overlap judging means, and a rebroadcast television program having the same contents as those of the first television program is retrieved from the television program schedule by the rebroadcast television program retrieving means on condition that a broadcasting time of the rebroadcast television program does not overlap with a recording time of any of the television program recording reservations other than the first television program recording reservation. Thereafter, a rebroadcast television program recording reservation for the rebroadcast television program is produced according to the television program schedule and is registered in the television program recording reservation storing means in place of the first television program recording reservation under the control of the television program recording reservation producing means.
Accordingly, even though the first television program recording reservation overlaps with the second television program recording reservation, because the rebroadcast television program recording reservation is registered in place of the first television program recording reservation, the contents of the first television program and the contents of the second television program can be reliably recorded according to the rebroadcast television program recording reservation and the second television program recording reservation, and the contents of the first television program and the contents of the second television program can be played back.
The second object is achieved by the provision of a television program recording reservation apparatus, comprising:
television program schedule storing means for storing a television program schedule in which a broadcasting schedule of a plurality of television programs is listed;
television program recording reservation receiving means for receiving an input television program recording reservation for a desired television program;
television program recording reservation storing means for storing one or more television program recording reservations for one or more television programs previously received by the television program recording reservation receiving means as one or more registered television program recording reservations;
television program judging means for judging according to the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means whether or not the desired television program of the input television program recording reservation received by the television program recording reservation receiving means is one of a plurality of specific television programs planned to be broadcasted as a television series or a television serial;
television program series retrieving means for retrieving all the specific television programs of the television series or the television serial from the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means in cases where it is judged by the television program judging means that the desired television program is one of the specific television programs; and
television program recording reservation producing means for producing either a television program lump-sum recording reservation for all the specific television programs retrieved by the television program series retrieving means or a specific television program recording reservation for one specific television program different from the desired television program according to the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means, and controlling the television program recording reservation storing means to store the television program lump-sum recording reservation or a set of the input television program recording reservation and the specific television program recording reservation, all the specific television programs or a set of the desired television program and the specific television program being recorded according to the television program lump-sum recording reservation or the set of the input television program recording reservation and being played back.
In the above configuration, a plurality of specific television programs planned to be broadcasted as a television series or a television serial are listed in the television program schedule. When a viewer inputs a television program recording reservation for a desired television program, it is judged by the television program judging means whether or not the desired television program of the input television program recording reservation is one of the specific television programs. In cases where the desired television program of the input television program recording reservation is one of the specific television programs, all the specific television programs of the television series or the television serial are retrieved from the television program schedule by the television program series retrieving means, a television program lump-sum recording reservation for all the specific television programs is produced by the television program recording reservation producing means, and the television program lump-sum recording reservation is registered in the television program recording reservation storing means in place of the input television program recording reservation.
Accordingly, even though the viewer overlooks the specific television programs other than the desired television program, because the television program lump-sum recording reservation for all the specific television programs is registered in place of the input television program recording reservation for the desired television program, all the specific television programs of the television series or the television serial can be reliably recorded, so that the viewer can entertain all the specific television programs played back.
Also, in cases where the viewer intends to record one specific television program different from the desired television program after the specific television programs are retrieved by the television program series retrieving means, a specific television program recording reservation for the specific television program is produced in place of the television program lump-sum recording reservation according to the television program schedule, and the specific television program recording reservation and the input television program recording reservation are registered in the television program recording reservation storing means.
Accordingly, the viewer can entertain the desired television program and the specific television program selected by the viewer.
The third object is achieved by the provision of a television program recording reservation apparatus, comprising:
television program schedule storing means for storing a television program schedule in which a broadcasting schedule of a plurality of television programs and program information of each television program are listed;
television program recording reservation receiving means for receiving a television program recording reservation for a television program;
television program recording reservation storing means for storing one or more television program recording reservations for one or more television programs received by the television program recording reservation receiving means as one or more registered television program recording reservations for registered television programs;
program information recording means for recording program information of one or more played-back television programs;
favorite television program retrieving means for determining a viewer""s taste from the program information of the played-back television programs recorded in the program information recording means, and retrieving one or more favorite television programs, which each differ from any of the registered television programs and suit the viewer""s taste, from the television program schedule; and
television program recording reservation producing means for producing one or more favorite television program recording reservations for the favorite television programs retrieved by the favorite television program retrieving means from the television program schedule stored in the television program schedule storing means and storing the favorite television program recording reservations in the television program recording reservation storing means, the favorite television programs suitable for the viewer""s taste being recorded according to the favorite television program recording reservations and being played back.
In the above configuration, a viewer watches various television programs respectively suiting a viewer""s taste. Therefore, the viewer""s taste can be determined by analyzing program information of one or more played-back television programs, and it is realized that the viewer desires to watch a television program suiting the viewer""s taste even though a television program recording reservation for the television program is not recorded.
To satisfy the viewer, one or more favorite television programs, which respectively differ from any of the registered television programs and suit the viewer""s taste, are retrieved from the television program schedule, one or more favorite television program recording reservations for the favorite television programs are produced, and the favorite television program recording reservations are registered in the television program recording reservation storing means.
Accordingly, even though the viewer overlooks the favorite television programs listed in the television program schedule, because the favorite television program recording reservations for the favorite television programs are automatically produced, the favorite television programs can be reliably recorded in a recording medium according to the favorite television program recording reservations and can be played back, so that the viewer can entertain the favorite television programs.